Thank you

After 80 editions of the Journal since June 1994, when it was named the Telecommunications Journal of Australia and after November 2013 the Australian Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, Professor Peter Gerrand has stepped down from the role as Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor.

On behalf of the Editorial Board, the many authors and the Journal?s loyal readership, I would like to thank Peter for his excellent contribution over the past 21 years. Peter?s hard work, determination, friendly and cheerful manner and willingness to publish points of view from both sides of a debate have ensured that the Journal has remained relevant and published articles of substance about the changing telecommunications landscape.

Peter?s career in telecommunications spans many decades and his leadership as a senior telecommunications academic, first at RMIT University and later at the University of Melbourne, underpinned his broader involvement with the telecommunications industry.

Over the past 21 years the Journal has included articles on telecommunications-related public policy, technology, consumer issues, legislative and regulatory matters and what the future may hold for an ever-changing telecommunications industry. Peter?s editorials have focused on the positive, and his inclusive management of the Journal has resulted in a superbly broad coverage of the key telecommunications issues. A highlight of Peter?s contribution is the enduring high standard of the Journal?s articles and the publication of views from the leaders in the regional telecommunications industry.

Looking forward

The Editorial Board will continue to publish a Journal that is focused on regional telecommunications, and aims to build upon past Editorial initiatives that have resulted in a steady stream of high quality papers being included in each issue.

There will be new initiatives commencing in 2015, including shifting the Journal to the Open Journal Systems publishing platform and building upon the ?theme editor? approach to encourage people with specialised knowledge of aspects of the telecommunications industry to bring together papers for upcoming issues.

The Open Journal Systems publishing platform will automate the publishing process and permit the Journal to be broadly indexed and build an Impact Factor, which is an important requirement if the Journal wishes to continue to attract high quality Academic papers.

A medium term goal is to consolidate the Journal?s past issues in a single publishing platform which will ensure that the Journal is available to the widest possible audience and is able to benefit from the considerable value of the papers published over past decades.

A key aspect of the Journal?s success has been the quality of the papers published in each of the issues; and the initiative to introduce issue ?themes?, as well as including appropriate submitted papers that meet the Editorial guidelines, aims to provide readers with a selection of papers from which a broader understanding can be obtained.

The historical and book review papers that have become a feature over past years will continue to provide us with an entertaining look at past and current topics. In 2015 an Editorial goal is to introduce a public policy paper in each issue to provide a perspective on how the telecommunications industry should be shaped moving forward.

In the role of Managing Editor, my objective is to work with colleagues on the Editorial Board to publish the Journal whilst maintaining the high standards that have been a hallmark of the Journal over many decades. As the Managing Editor, I will work to ensure that the Telecommunications Association's inclusive, broadly-minded and politically neutral stance will continue to be the foundation of Editorial policy.

Mark A Gregory